Harlow Council’s latest finance, performance and risk report is showing that the council is continuing to perform strongly as it works towards building Harlow’s future.
As the council rolls out its new plan, vision and missions for the town, the performance and financial data reported to the latest Cabinet meeting on Thursday (12 June) showed that the organisation is delivering for its residents, with highlights including:
- A reduction in the number of residents in temporary accommodation
- Call waiting times remaining well below target
- Planning applications continue to be processed well ahead of target, with a continued very low rate of appeal
- Bin collections still at a 99.9% on time collection rate
In addition to all this, the council is investing tens of millions into rebuilding out town, with work already well under way in the town centre to revitalise Broad Walk, and projects to build the new transport interchange, transform Market Square, bring the Arts and Cultural Quarter to Playhouse Square and acquire and redevelop the Terminus House site all in the pipeline alongside much more.
And all whilst:
- Freezing the council’s portion of Council Tax for another year
- Fully funding each of the council’s corporate missions and priorities with a balanced budget
- Providing greater value for money and efficiency across services through driving down waste and costs
- No cuts or closures
- Increasing investment for much-loved facilities including the Town Park, Pets’ Corner, the Playhouse, Harlow Museum, Leah Manning Centre, paddling pools and splash parks
- Increasing investment for essential services such as bin collections, street cleaning, landscape and parks maintenance, housing repairs and supported housing
Performance targets are set annually and progress on these is reported to the council monthly, highlighting areas where services are performing well as well as those where we can improve.
These indicators are used to drive more effective performance across the council and to ensure residents are receiving the high-quality service that they expect.
On the council’s continued service improvement, Councillor Hannah Ellis, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services and Transformation, said:
“The council’s performance remains consistently strong, and I am proud to see that as we work to transform our council, we are still delivering for our residents. With continued improvements reported across almost every area, driven by the hard work of council employees, our commitment to providing the best possible services to our residents remains resolute. We will however continue to raise our own bar and strive to ensure that our town receives the best possible services from us.”
Commenting on financial performance, Councillor James Leppard, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance, said:
“Our financial performance has been strong throughout the year. Careful financial management and budgeting has kept us on track to deliver the quality of services that our residents deserve – all whilst keeping Council Tax frozen.
“And we are continuing to do just that, keeping it frozen for 2025 to 2026, whilst increasing investment to achieve our six missions. Tens of millions of pounds, delivering on your priorities, providing value for the money that you put in through your Council Tax, and delivering for our town.”
You can read a copy of the council’s latest performance, finance and risk report here